The next day Paige was walking down the halls of Degrassi to her locker. She couldn't help but think about her family and friends who all knew her secret. As Paige made her way to her locker she would see her "friends" looking at her concerned. If they were that concerned for her they should've said something she thought to herself. As Paige arrived at her locker and began organizing her books, someone came up behind her wrapping their arms around her.
"Hey Honeybee." She could tell from the voice it was Spinner. "I told you not to talk to me!" She said not even bothering to look at him. "Paige I know you're mad-" he started before being cut off. "No, I'm not mad. I was mad when you humiliated me in front of the class. I was mad when you pulled that gross stunt in the cafeteria. I was mad when you got overly cozy with Manny but this is way bigger and beyond those things. You and everyone else kept something from me." Paige said, feeling her anger and stress go through the roof even more.
Spinner looked visibly upset at this point. "Paige I just-" Spinner started to say but Paige cut him off "Just go." She said exhausted. He gave up and walked away. JT who had seen most of it got concerned. As JT watched Spinner walk away he approached Paige.
"Paige, I heard that conversation, are you okay?" Jt asked, worried about what he heard. "No I'm not, my so called family and friends kept something from me that I should've known." She said curtly. Paige looked at JT conflicted.
"You haven't heard anything that I should be aware of have you?" As she asked, her voice went from irritated to vulnerable. JT didn't know the full situation but clearly it had her upset. "No I didn't, should I have?" He asked, confused. "If you did hear anything, like a rumor going around or something, that you think I should know about, you'd tell me right?" She asked, sounding even more vulnerable, it was strangely unPaige-like.
"Of course, you can count on me." JT said simply. While he still had no idea what was going on, Paige seemed to feel and look better, knowing she could trust him. Paige moved closer hugging him appreciatively. "Thank you JT, it really means a lot right now." Paige said, starting to untense a little.
"Paige whatever's going on, you don't have to tell me, I'm here for you. Just like you were there for me that night at Ashley's party."Jt said innocently.
"Yeah, ,no problem..." Paige said slowly, a feeling of dread starting to build, it wasn't the dread she felt before about the secret. She had no memory of the party and JT now confirmed she was there in some capacity. There was a small comfort however that JT must not be keeping it a secret from her, otherwise he'd know that wasn't her. As bad as things seemed she had one person she could trust, whatever had happened at Ashley's party it was at least a positive thing.
Paige arrived at her first period class taking one of the empty seats, she became annoyed as she saw Ashley enter going for one of the empty seats next to her.
"Paige...I don't know what else to say. I know you're mad. You have every right to be." Ashley said as Paige continued to ignore her, not even looking at her. "Paige please say something, we all care about you."
Again Paige said nothing. She clenched her fist in anger and tried to remain calm.Ashley sighed.
"This is exactly why we were afraid to tell you." Ashley muttered. Paige didn't react to this, at least not on the outside. On the inside she was fuming at the comment, it was as if she was trying to justify not telling her. Fortunately for her the class started as Mr Oleander began talking.
Normally listening to the cute teacher's assistant was very soothing for her but she couldn't ignore what Ashley said. Finally lunch time came as Paige entered the cafeteria she knew she wasn't sitting with the usual people but she also didn't want to be seen eating alone, one particular table however caught her eye, she could hear the conversation going on.
"I'm just saying what was James Gunn thinking about giving Henry Cavill the boot? He was the best actor to ever play Superman!" JT stated, sounding irritated.
"Just give the new guy a chance, David Corenswet was good in other things." Toby said, defending the decision. Emma and Manny sat there listening to the discussion, both looking mildly annoyed.
"I mean Corenswet is cute but Cavill has those eyes, that chiselled face and that accent." Paige said as she sat down at the table also. Toby, Emma, and Manny weren't sure how to react to her joining them but JT went along with it not making a big deal.
"Right? He looked the part and acted it perfectly. Plus the guy was a huge nerd in real life to." JT added. As JT and Toby continued their debate about the actors, Emma leaned over to Paige. "They have been going at this since yesterday." Emma said annoyed. "Wow, that's intense." Paige said surprised at the level of commitment to the issue.
"You think that's bad you should hear them argue over Flash actors. Watch this. Hey guys, who do you think played the better Flash?"Emma asked curiously wanting to see the reaction.
"Okay look before they snapped Ezra Miller was a pretty good actor." JT replied. "Yeah but Grant Gustin looks like an actual superhero, plus he hasn't had any run ins with the law." Toby argued.
While Paige had no idea what they were talking about she was having fun listening to their discussion, while she could tell the girls found it strange, none of them made the boys feel uncomfortable about it. Paige didn't know how long she'd be upset with her friends but until she dealt with it, it was reassuring to know she found somewhere she was accepted until then.
Authors note: thanks to all my readers who may still be reading. AllieB0524 thanks for the kind comments as usual and yes that's what I was going for, the humor but at the same time make you feel sorry for Paige.